A driver sits at the wheel of the St. Thomas intercampus shuttle. The university announced a schedule change for the shuttle early September. (Mia Laube/TommieMedia)
St. Thomas announced a schedule change for its intercampus shuttle due to traffic and road construction.
The shuttle used to bring students to and from the Anderson Student Center in St. Paul and Terrance Murphy Hall in Minneapolis every 20 minutes. Due to the amount of traffic caused by the road projects in the area, the Department of Transportation Services determined that from 6-9 a.m. and 3-7 p.m. the shuttle will make the trip every 30 minutes instead. According to the website, the main issue is congested traffic on I-94 during those hours prevents the shuttle from meeting the 20-minute turnaround times.
“Due to an increase in traffic levels over the past few years, our shuttles were rarely able to keep to the previous schedule during rush hours. It was causing a great deal of frustration to riders who depend on the shuttle to get between campuses.” explained Diana Kaardal, manager of parking and transportation operations, in an email.
Kaardal said her department tried to get the word out as best as they could by posting flyers at the bus stops and the new schedule on their website.
Many students were still unaware of the change, leading to confusion and frustration for some.
“We have received some complaints, primarily because people were unaware of the changes, or because the new times didn’t fit their schedules well,” Kaardal said. “There has also been some overcrowding on some of the morning shuttles and some tight turnarounds for classes on opposite campuses, for which we are trying to make adjustments,” she said.
When students waiting at the bus stop were asked if they knew about the changes, many said they were unaware a change had been made.
“I had no idea they changed it honestly. I’ve been kind of annoyed, actually, because I thought it’s just been running late all week.” said Griffin Johnson, a sophomore business student who regularly uses the shuttle.
Aaron Torborg, another business student, had a similar perspective.
“I didn’t know they changed it. It hasn’t really changed anything for me, so I don’t really care. If it affected my schedule, I’d be pretty annoyed about it though,” Torborg said.
Noah Hanlon can be reached at Nphanlon@stthomas.edu.